Long before Matt and I even started talking about adding to our family, I had fears. Fears that it might not happen for us because as far back as I can remember, all I’ve ever wanted was to be a mom. Instead, it happened fast for us. In early November 2014, we found out we were pregnant. After that moment I had very little to fear, especially after we passed the first trimester and my belly began to grow.

We have learned a lot about Fibular Hemimelia over the past 8 months, and I continue to learn new things every day from the Facebook support groups I’m a part of. FH is a very broad term and has quite the spectrum from minimal to severe.

We first met with an orthopedic surgeon about 25 weeks into my pregnancy. My OB had never seen a missing fib on ultrasound and couldn’t give us any information on our unborn baby. By the time we met with the orthopedics department at Lurie Children’s Hospital, I was already pretty versed in Fibular Hemimilia (thanks to Google, blogs, and a Facebook Support Group) and had even already met two little kids that also had it. I was certain it was what our babe had, but we wanted to hear it from a medical professional.

It was a year ago today that Matt and I first learned our daughter was missing a bone in her leg. I can still remember the feeling; my heart sinking, a lump in my throat, tears falling as soon as we stepped out of the office.